Sydney (VNA) – Longan has become the fourth kindof Vietnamese fruit to be exported to Australia after litchi, mango and dragonfruit. However, experts say there is still a lot of work needed for Vietnam to securea firm foothold in the market.

Truong Ai Quoc, founder of Aus Asia Produce, a fruitdistributor in Victoria State, said that at the Vietnamese longan festival inAustralia, 500kg of longan was sold in only one hour.

Hoang Luat, the owner of an Asian food supermarket in WestAustralia, said that his chain sells about 1-1.5 tonnes of fresh Vietnamesefruit each week.

According to Australian Minister of Agriculture and WaterResources David Littleproud, the Vietnamese agricultural sector has thepotential to earn billions of USD from exports. The strategic partnershipagreement between Vietnam and Australia has opened up new investment and tradepartnership opportunities for both sides, he added.

Australia is one of the 20 most developed economies in theworld. Customers in the 25 million-strong market love fresh fruit. A communityof about 300,000 Vietnamese people living in the country also provides a goodsource of customers for Vietnam.

Thanks to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free TradeAgreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership, the majority of Vietnamese goods exported to Australia enjoy zero tariffsand many other advantages.

However, Vietnam’s fruit export revenue to Australia has remainedmodest.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customsshowed that trade between the two countries in the first nine months of 2019reached over 5.9 billion USD, up 9 percent year on year. Crude oil aloneaccounted for over 2.5 billion USD.

Although Vietnam’s export revenue from fruit and vegetableshit more than 31 million USD, a rise of 15 percent over the same period lastyear, the figure accounted for only a small part of Australia’s total spending onthese products.

One of the major obstacles for Vietnamese farm produce isstrict quarantine regulations.

Hoang Vy Cao, head of a fruit importer in Sydney, said that Vietnamesebusinesses in Australia always prioritise Vietnamese products, but not manyVietnamese exporters manage to meet Australian standards.

Meanwhile, Hoang Luat said that production and transportcosts also affect the competitiveness of Vietnamese farm produce.

Anna Le, Director of Green Path Australia, the firstimporter of Vietnamese longan in the market, said that shipping by air has pushedthe price of the fruit up dramatically, though the quality is ensured.

Trinh Duc Hai, Vietnamese Consul General in New South Wales,said that the Consulate General of Vietnam is ready to support Vietnamese firmsand connect them with Australian partners by providing them with information aboutmarket demands and developments.

Minister Littleproud suggested that Vietnamese andAustralian agencies coordinate more closely to deal with requirements onbiological safety for imported farm produce and broaden the scope foragricultural cooperation between the two countries./.